NEW SOUTH WALES.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume IV, Issue 204, 9 December 1864, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEW SOUTH WALES.

SYDNEY MANUFACTURE. The manufacturing industry of the colony is still in its infancy, but some branches of it, growing naturally out of the pastoral, agricultural, mining, and commercial operations of the colonists have got a fair footing. There are 180 mills for grinding and dressing grain. Of these, 129 are steam mills, 20 are driven by water, 13 are windmills, and 18 are worked by horse-power. Thirty-three of these mills are in the pastoral districts. In the year 1860 the number of mills was 193, since which date the number has continuously declined. The number of establishments or machines which are classed under the head of manufactories or works in the old settled districts is 1568, of which only 323 are in Sydney, and in the pastoral districts 1768. But under this heading is included the following miscellaneous assortment. Connected with agriculture:—Tobacco factories, steam bakeries, reaping and threshing machines, chaff cutters, bone crushers. Connected with the pastoral interest: —Soap and candle works, cloth factories, tanneries, fellmongering, meat preserving, boiling down, wool washing, steam wool pressing. Connected with articles of food and drink :

—Distilleries and sugar refineries, rectifying and compounding establishments, breweries, steam coffee mills. Connected with building:—Potteries, brick making, limekilns, and saw-mills. Connected with metals:—Millwrights, iron and brass foundries, type foundries, engineering works, boiler works. Aliscellaneous :—Quartz crushing machines, stone crushing machines, hat manufactories, rope walks, salt works, dye works, gasworks, anchor works, steam slips, patent slips, dry docks, fire engines, steam engines, railways, bark cutters, ice manufactories, steam printing presses, water works, gold-washing machines, shipbuilding yards. There is a considerable variety here, though some of the items simply represent the working of imported machines. But the return sufficiently shows how much room there is for the introduction of mechanical appliances even withoutjthe artificial stimulus of protection. The wolleu manufacture in 1863 was only to the extent of 64,650 yards, which was only half that of the proceeding year. The manufacture of soap was also below that of the preceding year, though the number of establishments had slightly increased. The manufacture of candles was to the extent of 17,237 cwt.

The tobacco manufacture shows a very marked increase, the quantity produced in 1863 being 36,443 cwt. as against 3755 cwt. in the previous year, and 1587 cw‘t. in 1861. The principal seat of the manufacture is at Maitland. This branch of industry has before it an indefinite development, if we can but produce a leaf equal in quality to that which is imported. Eccent attempts to grow tobacco on the Lachlan seem to promise favorably, and if the expectations held out are at all sustained by further experience, we may hope to see the western district the seat of a prosperous tobacco agriculture as well as a tobacco manufacture. The enhancement of price, owing to the American war, is a greater protection than even the most ardent protectionists would have thought of asking for four years ago. The quantity of sugar refined was Kit),2Bo cwt., waicli was a slight increase over that of tho previous year. There are five establishments in tho colony, but only two of them were at work—those, viz., at Parramatta-street and the Waterloo Estate. This department of manufacturing industry would receive a considerable impulse if agricultural industry would but take the turn of sugar cultivation. Why this has been so long neglected is a puzzle hard to explain. It has been amply proved, as far as experimental efforts can prove such a thing, that tho soil and climate are admirably adapted to the growth of tho cane, and that the profit on the operation would bo far greater than can be obtained from any other branch of agriculture. But enterprise has been too languid to be stirred up, and this mine of wealth remains unworked. There are 39 boiling down establishments in tho colony, of which, 10 are in the pastoral districts. At these places there were slaughtered 7574 sheep and 30,335 head of horned cattle, from which were produced 57,594 cwt. of tallow. This was an increased production over the previous year, and was only exceeded during the decennium in the years 1855 and 1856. During each of these 2 years about a quanler of a million sheep were slaughtered. But sheep are too valuable now to be boiled down. The necessity for stocking all new runs has created a great demand, and everything that can crawl on four legs has a value. But if the multiplication of stock continue at its present rate, and especially if the price of wool should decline, the sheep will find their way again in larger numbers to the boiling pot. The number of pigs killed was 894, from which were preduced 40901b5. of lard. This was a very considerable increase over the production of the previous year. The quantity of spirits distilled in 1862 was 142,995 proof gallons—an increase over the production of the previous year, but below that of the two previous years. Nearly the whole of this was produced from sugar and treacle, the distillation from grain being very slight. It has often been strongly urged tnat free distillation would benefit the farmer by establishing a minimum price for grain, but grain has not for many years been at a price that would pay for distillation, nor is it likely to be unless sugar were made dearer by an extra duty. When grain gets very cheap the hope of the farmer \vill lie, not in being able to turn his grain into spirit, but to turn his attention to some other purpose than the production of grain.— S. Jf. Herald , Nov. 14.